Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Happiness

 family on roller coasterUnschooled kids should learn what they want to learn, and have fun doing it. If happiness isn’t even a goal, life is of little value.
SandraDodd.com/happy
auto-bot photo of the Dusseldorp family

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Sparklers at midnight

Ren wrote:

When my children ask me to light sparklers up at midnight, my auto-pilot mode says "That's not something we do this late at night!" but that lovely little "why not" goes gently swirling through my mind, growing louder as I pause. Why not indeed?
—Ren Allen

SandraDodd.com/rentalk
photo by Andrea Quenneville
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Monday, December 8, 2014

Full and open


Help a child be full of the world—full, and open, with experiences and connections flowing in and through him. At peace, curious, joyful.

If an unschooling family honors a child's interests, answers his questions, supports his curiosity, provides for him a place to sleep, and a variety of food and opportunities, it shouldn't matter what those interests and questions are — he will be learning and growing.

SandraDodd.com/peace/becoming
photo by Colleen Prieto
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Sunday, December 7, 2014

Grow and thrive

We helped each other grow and thrive.
—Karen James

orchids in small pots in a windowsill

SandraDodd.com/growth
photo by Sandra Dodd

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Out the window

Friday, December 5 photo of a window that's not there anymore now. Marty lives in our old house and we got new windows installed yesterday.
All my early unschooling articles were written within arm's reach of that window. I especially remember looking out while thinking of phrasing for "Rejecting a Pre-Packaged Life" whose URL is SandraDodd.com/joy.

The new window is good.
The old window is history.
History is good, too.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Beyond compare

colorful connected houses along a canal in Holland
Unschooling is the ultimate individualized learning situation, and comparisons are unnecessary.

SandraDodd.com/pam/reasons
photo by Rippy Dusseldorp
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Thursday, December 4, 2014

Frolic! Delve.

Frolic! Delve.
Catch it in your peripheral vision.



SandraDodd.com/history
photo by Bruno Machado